The breadth of this experience was on display Sunday afternoon. After a solid performance last Thursday against Marathon at home, DC came out against a team that hadn’t won at home in eons, in a game that HAD to be won. The first half, I turned to my fiance, saying that the team hasn’t looked this good in a while. They were working triangles, making smart runs, and generally showing some sorely missed flair. We were hard done to not have scored in the first half, but I dismissed the poor finishing as par for the course, and hoped we’d figure it out.

Then the dark cloud (figuratively and literally) moved over RFK and sat there.

Josh Wicks came out aggressively (for a change) and made contact with Ryan Johnson instead of the ball, dislocating his shoulder and spraining his knee.

Now, would the team react with fire and battle to keep the lead? Or would they fold like a lawn chair? Guess which one happened.

The team fell apart, with a free kick goal that was hard to be stopped and a Marc Burch disaster that led to goal number two. (To be fair, Soehn threw Burch to the wolves after not playing for weeks). They threw the kitchen sink at San Jose after Soehn finally brought in Christian Gomez with 10 minutes remaining, but too little too late.

No heart. No strength. No playoffs.

I’m in the same position as I was one year ago where I thought not getting in the playoffs may be better for the team in the future. The front office was able to hold off the fans, by promising greater accountability and better results. We got neither, and this year looks to be another year without playoff soccer. If we don’t make it this year, we’ve forced some changes.

The only thing to get out of the rest of this season is to advance in Champions League (which is doable) and to see what we have with the rest of this roster for the rest of the MLS season. By default, we get to see what Milos Kocic is made of, and I want to see players like Shipalane, Habarugira, Szetela, Jacobson (and N’Silu at Toluca). If these guys can’t make the best of their opportunities, then they need to be cut loose. Going into the close season, changes will need to be made, and the new CBA agreement will have a lot to do with it. Higher salary cap, DP’s not counting against the cap, and higher pay minimums mean a restructuring will be necessary and possible.

I’ll do what everyone else is seemingly doing and give me thoughts about the roster, and what we should do with them.

Goalies
Wicks- Keep him. He’s shown that he’s capable, and is an affordable option. The reason we suck is not Josh Wicks.
Kocic- Here’s his opportunity. Run with it Milos, and you’ll be here next year. Be horrible, the picture is less clear.
Hamid- Keep obviously. Maybe loan him out?

Defence
John- Adios, buddy. Coaching maybe in TnT?
Habarugira- If he gets a runout for the rest of the season, we should be able to see what we have. If we don’t play him, we should keep him until we figure it out.
James- I’m torn on James. I’m not impressed all the way, and I think what has been said about him before holds true. Athleticism only gets you so far, and he seems to have some mind lapses that you can’t have in that part of the field. I’ll go with cut him.
Vaughan- Keep him. Valuable backup, and with more experience in the team, will be a good asset.
Burch- If you can find a better LB in the offseason, trade him. He’ll have value somewhere, but he gets burned too often and he isn’t dangerous enough going forward to look past that.
Jakovic- Lock him up. Throw away the key.
Janicki- Reserve. Too slow, nice guy, but not cut out for MLS.
McTavish- Useful as a guy off the bench, but should not be relied on for major minutes. If a better option can be found for his spot at an increased salary, make it happen.
Namoff- Concussion news is scary, as we’ve seen in the past. Hopefully, the prognosis is good and he’ll return to the same form. Keep, but watch out for problems.
Wallace- Keep.

Midfield
DiRaimondo- Waive. Not good enough.
Szetela- Who knows? Hopefully we get to find out, particularly if Olsen retires, he’ll be necessary.
Allen- Waive.
Shipalane- Keep, has something that the team lacks, speed and the ability to attack defenders. Needs to be coached more, but that’s the easy part.
Barklage- Keep. Looked good before injury, and is a good option.
Fred- Ah, Fred. He who has so much talent, but produces so little. As much as it’s hard to say, Fred needs to go. Can’t finish, gives the ball away, and isn’t good enough at crossing the ball to be retained as a pure winger.
Gomez- Keep for one more year. With more speed around him, Gomez can still be dangerous. He also steps his game up internationally, which we’ll need next year.
Jacobson- Play him for the rest of the season, flashes of talent, but may be able to find someone better at his salary.
Ben Olsen- Pay cut, and keep. He still has aggressiveness and bite, shown against Marathon, but can also turn in stinkers like San Jose. Has a role to play, but not at 200k plus.
Pontius and Tino- KEEP.
Simms- I don’t love Simms, but he’s consistent. No more CB, and I see him as value, but he needs to level out his play and try to get forward occasionally.

Forwards

Emilio- Reduce salary, find him a suitable strike partner, and keep. If he isn’t willing to take a pay cut, then let him go. Too inconsistent, and too reliant on others to score.
Moreno- Not a 90 minute player any more. If he can accept that, keep him. If he can’t, offer him a job in the organization.
Khumalo- Keep. Needs work on his finishing, but he’s a talent, and cheap.
N’Silu- Sorry buddy. Waive.

What do you think about all this? Want to see DC make the playoffs? Care about Champions League? Fire Soehn?

This team has been nothing this season if not frustrating. Performances have bounced between exciting, to dour, to promising yet unfulfilling. The season is on the back end, and fans are not sure who this DC United team is, and what we can expect going forward.

The Good:

Fred- Constantly dangerous, hard working, and aggressive. I think that we have to accept that Fred isn’t going to be a prolific scorer, and we should instead expect games like the one last night. He took players on and used his technical ability to make players miss. We lack that for the most part.
Moreno- He only had a cameo, but he held the ball well and added to the creativity of the team. He’s slow, but that’s no surprise. I hope he gets hot down the stretch and can help us advance in CONCACAF and play few but quality minutes in League play.
The Defense- We can’t complain tonight. I’m thinking back trying to remember major errors, and I think aside from an errant pass by Burch, the backline was pretty flawless. Long may it continue.

The Meh:
Quaranta- Maybe its because I expect a lot from Tino, but I thought he was very poor in the final third. Aside from a strong effort on frame, he wasn’t dangerous and often put ball where noone was. Because of the lack of our forward depth, he’s going to need to step up and start putting the ball in the net.
Emilio- His touch is embarrassing, and was stranded for service, which isn’t really his fault. But he can’t create, and on this team right now, we need someone who can. Maybe a little unfair, but he hasn’t been great this season.

The Bad:
Finishing- I don’t know how to fix this. I’m sure they practice, but isn’t happening right now. Maybe sacrifice an animal? I have no idea.

Wednesday night United plays in CONCACAF play against Toluca at home. After losing on the road last week 3-1, DC needs to get three points in this home match. Recently, Mexicans teams have dominated DC, so hopefully Soehn or whoever is leading the team out, can mix in starters and reserves and find the formula to get three points.

My morning was spent watching the Community Shield, and as a Chelsea fan, the result was to my liking. With a nice hearty breakfast, and even more fulfilling victory over Manchester United, my fiance and I headed off into the inferno. We made it to the parking lot with minimal fanfare, which was a slight surprise after the debacle of the McCartney concert at FedEx the previous weekend. Noting a great number of United jerseys, I allowed myself to believe the numbers might be closer than I first imagined.

Not so much. As soon as we made it through the gates, it was painfully obvious that this Real Madrid team might be somewhat popular. As a guy who never really got into La Liga, I’m somewhat oblivious of the extent of this clubs global reach. Needless to say, we United fans were slightly outnumbered.

I negotiated the stupid Merch table line, and grabbed my commemorative scarf and pin as I am a whore for memorabilia. We got some overpriced junk food and went for our seats in the sun. Took some photos that I’ll post a link to down at the bottom. This brings me to my first point. This happened at the US v El Salvador game too last month, but if you don’t have a ticket in the front row, Get. Out. Of. My. Way. If you wanted to take pictures from close up, buy the ticket or get a zoom lens. The nonexistent security were no help as drunken, crude, and illegally seated (or standing on chairs) Madridistas obstructed my view for the first 30 minutes. I was…upset. After they eventually were felled by a mean looking security guard, I was treated to the fat, drunken United fans, who lamented the entire day about the number of Madrid fans, how much they had to drink, and how people should “shut up”. It was…unenjoyable.

The game was interesting enough, if only a little cagey at the beginning. The obviously overeducated Madridistas were able to detect that any time Ronaldo did anything with the ball, it was cheerworthy. And 1 mixtape-esque even. As the eventual goal onslaught came, as we all knew it would, the look on the faces of Moreno and Emilio said it all. “It’s too damn hot, and I’m too old”.

Overall, I have to say I enjoyed the AC Milan v Chelsea game more, but it was a good time. Kevin Payne said that the dual purpose of this game was to generate revenue and to draw new fans. I can pretty much assure you that goal number 2 was a failure. Goal number 1 seemed to work. I hope I’m wrong and Kyle can tell me that they’ve added x number of season tickets. I know they seemed to buy a lot of DCU gear. But after the second half where the casual fan would see one team that had their way, and another that was helpless to stop them, I can’t imagine they’ve gained a huge number on converts.

Click on this thumb upping Ronaldo for more pictures.

Last night, DC United made me forget I was angry. They made the words about “respecting international competition” that sounded so hollow the week before seem real. They met the standard that the DCU teams of the past had set. And I couldn’t be more pleased.

There are a number of words to describe last night’s game against Firpo. Sloppy. Choppy. Average. I’d rather look at the game from an emotional and mental standpoint than a technical one. Aside from Gomez, most of the players didn’t show well. Fred especially was poor in the midfield. However, after 90 minutes on Saturday, a majority of the team showed what they could do with their backs against the wall. Some, like Ben Olsen, a guy I thought had to be on his last leg, gut through 120 minutes, and score his penalty. Heart of a lion, indeed. Gomez was brimming with confidence all night, and as many people said before, raises his game when DC plays internationally. That will be key in the upcoming games. You hope that in the league games when we have to play 4-4-2, we could rest Gomez, but we’ll see.

DC was determined last night, and it showed. And I’m proud of every one of them. And now, I’ll even allow myself to be a little excited about the Real Madrid game on Sunday.

What did you all think?

I think all of this boils down to money. Pure and simple, this team has been run as more of a business than a football club since the signing of Marcello Gallardo. The prioritization of MLS Cup and the Open Cup (only when we got thru to the final) and most importantly, a meaningless money making venture against Real Madrid, show that this team is no longer about extending its reach to Central and South America and excelling internationally. The brass at DCU want to finally start turning a profit in the otherwise drowing-in-red venture that is the socialized MLS. You can’t begrudge them that they’re tired of always losing money. But, the team should be honest with its devoted and invested fanbase.

If this team can’t compete on all fronts (and it cannot), then give up your place in the Champions League. If you’re going to field a group of reserves with 2 starters, say that CL doesn’t mean anything to you, so the fans don’t waste their time. There are two options, neither of them appealing. A) They disrespected their opponent, thinking they could get by them with players like DiRaimondo and McTavish as a winger, or B) They never cared at all, and were trying to scuttle their chances, thus justifying playing the same motley crew the next week in the away leg.

I was fully disappointed last night with the team selection, the lack of creativity from players, and the inability of this team to go one game without making a goal-causing error. Also, I was disappoitned with this quote from Tom Soehn last night,

On team’s chemistry with scattered lineup
I think every game offers new challenges. I know this – that on Saturday [vs. Houston] we’re going to focus on Saturday and pick up the pieces after that and we’ll worry about Tuesday [at Firpo], but Saturday is a very important game.

Screw off, Tom. A midseason game against a Western Conference team is NOT uber important. What’s important, at least to the fans if no one else, is getting past Firpo and into group play. Disgraceful.

Like commentors on Soccer Insider said last night, this will be the last time I attend an international game of theirs until they show the fans that they actually give a shit about it. We spend time and energy supporting this club, and last night was an awfully strange way of repaying that loyalty.

The first half was honestly the worst 45 minutes of soccer I’ve ever seen. I’m counting Screaming Eagles pickup games in that assertion. Boyzzz was just bad. He made one nice backheel pass, but other than that he was a wreck. Tino can’t get back soon enough.
The man I tipped for early retirement had a stinker of a first half as well, with errant passes all over the place. The backline was a mess, including the brain fart of a back pass on Namoff’s part. I’m trying to think if anyone was being effective in the first half…nope, I don’t think so. So for the first half, everyone gets a 1.

Now the second half was an entirely different matter. Moreno mercifully replaced Khumalo, and his short passing ability enabled a PK, and converted in a emphatic way in the upper 90.
The second goal…will be in contention for GOTW. If not for Donovan/Esky’s strike on Thursday, he’d have it sewn up. A diving header that corner hunted redeemed his bad first half, and he added tough defense and playing 1-2s all up and down the wing. Burch had his best game of the year, contributing on both ends. He still gets a little turned inside out on some plays, but he’s not killing us with those mistakes.

EMILIO SCORED A GOAL! You could tell he was as excited as my Shift key, with the great interplay between Jaime, Christian Gomez, and the sweet finish by Emilio. Let us hope its the beginning of a hot streak as he plays his way back into full 90 minute form.

Gomez was MOTM, and he deserved it. He was pumped, and it showed with his creativity and aggressiveness. He appeared angry that Masteroni got kicked in the balls, and then didn’t immediately jump up. But maybe I missed something from the stands.

We’ll just rate the second half, as we already know what everyone got in the first half.
Wicks 6, Burch 7, Janicki 5, Namoff 8, Olsen 7, Gomez 9, Fred 7, Moreno 9, Emilio 8, Pontius 6, Simms 6. Subs: McTavish 6, Wallace 7

What did you think?

The thing you’ll hear most from any reports you’re bound to read about this match is that Josh Wicks did well, and RSL bunkered. Honestly, that’s about all I could tell you about it, too. DC started out bad, and finished bad.

Fred is continuing his habit of squandering easy chances that need burying. He did well at creating, but that’s not his role, or it shouldn’t be. He was a league scoring champion in Australia, and he’s putting himself in good positions, but he’s just been snakebitten. For like, 2 years. I would say this is the last year he should be in the Black and the Red at his salary, unless he starts putting them away at a prodigious rate.

Jaime was ineffective, and I was glad that Tommy pulled him when he did. Due to the way that RSL had set up, you need an active and physical presence up top, and when Jaime is not supercharged, he is neither physical or active. I wanted N’Silu to get more than a late cameo, as he didn’t have time to settle into the game. He will have to get better at that, because I don’t see him as starting 11 player.

Tino did okay, having decided to play provider at almost all times. Whereas last year I had to yell at him to pass up the shot, that is very much not the case this year. I’d like to see him more aggressive in the final third.

The backline was phenomenal. Jakovic is not long for this league, mark my words. Namoff and Burch, to a lesser degree, were dominant. Combine that defensive presence and goalkeeping against a team with some interest in attacking and you have a recipe for a United victory.

I would be remiss if I didn’t single out Josh Wicks for kudos. I’ll admit, when I saw him in the starting 11, I said, “Well, we won’t see Crayton ever again, then.” I’ll stick by that. I’m pretty sure, as I’ve said before, his mixture of high salary, average performance, and attitude are making him be exit bound. If we can get this kind of performance out of some combination of Wicks and Kocic, we’ll be okay. I’m sure we’d all like to see a more steady hand back there, but we’ll see what the summer window brings us.

I’ve kind of fallen off the map here, and I apologize. I was looking for a co-blogger, but I haven’t really been seeing any output. So, I’ll get back to business here and give you folks something to read at work.

Non Sequitur: A cool post about Dunny’s trip to RFK.

Fred missed a sitter early in the first half, and Quaranta was not playing his best, despite what Goff’s ratings may tell you. If his goal was to enable others, then we was adequate. If his role as forward was to score goals and be dangerous, he didn’t do as well. He missed 1 easy chance, and 2 or 3 that he should have buried. As a longtime Tino supporter, I suspect he’ll do better as he gets more fit.

Brandon Barklage played the game of his life. He was tenacious in the middle, found himself in the correct spots, displayed Rod Dyachenko like foot skills, and of course, took his chances at goal and found the back of the net. I think we may have found the potential replacement for Gomez, either as he fades at the end of games, or next year.

Milos Kocic got his first start, and it began somewhat rocky. In his first two clearance attempts, the ball went away from him and he was almost caught out. On his third chance, he muffed the ball, and had to be saved by headsup defending. He made 2 or 3 saves, and was saved by the rulebook, after Kenny Cooper’s penalty came off the post and he illegally buried the rebound.

The defense of Greg Janicki and Bryan Namoff was top class. The attempts at defense by Marc Burch however, were not. Unable to string short passes together, and needing repeated bailouts by Janicki, Burch may be playing his way out of the starting LB spot once Avery John gets fit.

MATCH RATINGS: Kocic 6, Burch 4, Janicki 7, Namoff 7, Jacobson 6, Fred 6, Quaranta 5, Pontius, 5, Barklage 8, Khumalo (4 in the first, 7 in the second), McTavish 6 SUBS: Moreno 4, Peters 4, Wallace 5, Jakovic 6

Below Highlights;

I was there last night, and I was fairly pleased. I say fairly because there were some stupid passes in the midfield, and some questionable play by certain players (I’m looking your way Emilio), and because we SHOULD get three points against anyone in the Western Conference. Rubbish. Anyway…
The first half saw only one late goal by Joe Vide, his first of his career. Scored off of a nice volley, which could have been a GOTW nominee if not for a later strike by Santino. An opportunistic finish by Quevas Kirk less than a minute after he came on finished the scoring.
Louis Crayton was solid if not spectacular. He made the few saves he needed to, was aggressive off of his line, took down crosses, and generally hustled and marshalled the backline. I appreciate that, particularly as its such a departure from previous goalkeeping this season.

Another observation came after the game. Ben Olsen, who was on the sub bench for some reason, “ran” over to hug Facundo Erpen. I say “run”, but I could have also said hobbled, galloped, or old-man-with-arthritis-movement. It didn’t look good, and I would be shocked if he’s game fit this season at all. At this point, as has been said by other bloggers, I’d rather see those that are hurt wait as long as they need and be recovered for the playoffs, or failing that, Champions League.

All in all, a good result. Players were fighting for the ball, and almost all of them were succeeding in winning it. Emilio had two assists, and when Goff told him that, he replied “I’m a number 10″. That’s a funny answer, and I give him credit for his humor, but he wasn’t much of an offensive threat, and he hasn’t been for about 3 weeks. Santino must not be giving him the service he wants. Below are some pics from the game. Leave your thoughts about the final result in the comments.

DCU vs Colorado

Some tidbits for you on this Monday morning:

- From the UnitedMania podcast (which I listen to every Monday), it looks like Santino’s hamstring, which pulled him from Sunday’s game in the 25th minute, is serious enough to warrant an MRI. An acronym no DC fan likes to see.
- Here’s a interview with our boy, Ben, on his return and the fans’ support.

-Here’s one of Coach Soehn:

Here’s the wrap up from Comcast.

“I’m disappointed with the way it went in the second half,” said Beckham, whose appearance helped United draw roughly double its usual crowd. “We lost our way. We kept giving the ball away, and we didn’t play well. It was hot out there, but it was more than that today.”

Yes it was more than that, David.

-An interesting post at Booked for Dissent about the difference between Ben Olsen’s return and the plight of Claudio Reyna in New York. He also noticed something about Beckham which made him think very highly of Goldenballs.

- ESPNSoccernet’s Recap of the game. Gotta love this lead-in…

WASHINGTON – The motion of Moreno and control of Emilio trumped bending it like Beckham and the emotion of Landon Donovan in D.C. United’s 4-1 victory over the Los Angeles Galaxy on Sunday.

Niiiiice.

- The Washington Times ascribing our success to having Latin players. Okay.

- Goff’s recap. Good as always. The Post also ran a side bar on Ben, which you should check out.

- Behind the Badge with their Quote motherload…a highlight from Ben,

On the fan support
I don’t understand, it I really don’t. These people here are just so supportive of me. All I do is play hard, I like to play soccer, I like this team and I guess they appreciate it. It’s nice to see. It’s emotional. A lot of this stuff you act like it’s not a big deal. But I like to play soccer; this is my living and I want to come back, but again it’s going to be a long road back. But again I’d like to thank the fans for helping me through this and giving me the benefit of the doubt – I get choked up just thinking about it now.

- D’s recap over at Dcenters. Always a good source.

-JCM at Poplar Point Perspective appeared to be pretty pleased with DC on Sunday.

Possibly the best game of the year from this group. Simms was steady. Fred was dangerous. Quaranta, while he was on, was very good running down long balls and making well struck crosses. But, Gallardo was the class of the group. From beginning to end, he was the best player on the field. Just a masterful game from him, and his goal could win goal of the week.

-DCUMD writes with glowing words for most of the team, excluding the same player that I’ve had gripes with for the last three games.

1. In my love of creating controversy, I’m going to put Fred down here today. This was his second match in a row that I think he underperformed. My comments about Burch and Quaranta above show clearly that Fred was the weakest link on the wings in this match. His assist to Emilio’s second goal was well-placed, but I think Emilio could have had a hat trick today had Fred played the ball across the front of the goal to him instead of taking a weak shot right at Cronin earlier in the second half.

That’s plenty for now. Get back to work!